bliss wrote:Grandpa brewing some "2013 Winter, Shan Lin Xi: Long-Feng-Xia" from Origin Tea at a client's office in Stockholm. Beautiful and gentle start to the day!

This is really excellent tea. I've been enjoying it, too, but in a small Yixing pot.

Excellent tea indeed! A little Yixing for Gaoshan is definitely on my list of tea priorities. I usually brew this tea in a gaiwan when home or at work. Variations in brewing techniques are nice though, since they seem to highlight different aspects in a tea.

More Cui Luan Lishan from Origin Tea this evening--so delicate, just right from the Flower of Forgetfulness. Such a beautiful tea, and gazing at the cup, a beautiful reminder that the 'disappearing' snowflakes on my new cups from Shawn McGuire will in time stand out regardless of how full the cup is, assuming they take the stain as gorgeously as this cup has. Mmm....a bit of 'guilty pleasure' with my tea, indeed.

Light roasted. I am not sure about the style. It is my first try and I actually don't know what to expect. It is a little to "organic" for me. Maybe because I used to drink a lot of pu-er. According to my friend it is the best tea he have ever tested.

чай wrote:It is my first try and I actually don't know what to expect.

I find this to be typical for a lot of completely new sensory input. I guess the brain needs to build new pathways or something like that Don't compare it to other experiences (teas in this case). Just let it stand on its own, listen, and develop a relation to it

Today two different teas: the first pour is the winter gaoshan tea from Taiwan I've been drinking so frequently...quiet rounds under a moody sky of shifting grey clouds while reading The Way Of The Bodhisattva by Shantideva, a book that always speaks so deeply and so clearly.

My contemplation centers around this: "All beings, ourselves included, are in exactly the same predicament of wanting to be happy and not wanting to suffer. For this reason we must vigorously train in ways to develop the intention to protect others as much as ourselves, creating happiness and dispelling suffering. And this is possible, despite what me might think." (Khenchen Kunzan Palden)

For the second pour I open Ba Xian Fenghuang Wulong, Winter Harvest 2012 from Norbu. It's really a magnificent tea with notes of apricot and rose petal, mild alfalfa, a green mango-like astringency on the sides of the tongue, with a sweet, fruity (to me, almost starfruit-like) floral throat that lingers.

茶藝-TeaArt08 wrote:Today two different teas: the first pour is the winter gaoshan tea from Taiwan I've been drinking so frequently...quiet rounds under a moody sky of shifting grey clouds while reading The Way Of The Bodhisattva by Shantideva, a book that always speaks so deeply and so clearly.

That's a great book, a favourite of mine, and the only Mahayana text on my bookshelf.

茶藝-TeaArt08 wrote:Today two different teas: the first pour is the winter gaoshan tea from Taiwan I've been drinking so frequently...quiet rounds under a moody sky of shifting grey clouds while reading The Way Of The Bodhisattva by Shantideva, a book that always speaks so deeply and so clearly.

That's a great book, a favourite of mine, and the only Mahayana text on my bookshelf.

Best wishes,
sherubtse

I scarfed down everything on Buddhism I could get my hands on when I was young man. There was only one book I kept throughout the years that had a lasting impact on me, The Zen Teachings Of Huang Po, On The Transmission Of Mind, translated by John Blofeld.

茶藝-TeaArt08 wrote:Today two different teas: the first pour is the winter gaoshan tea from Taiwan I've been drinking so frequently...quiet rounds under a moody sky of shifting grey clouds while reading The Way Of The Bodhisattva by Shantideva, a book that always speaks so deeply and so clearly.

namaste, is it the translation by shambala publications?

i havent tried pairing buddhist books with tea though i'm attempting to run through the surangama sutra at the moment..

茶藝-TeaArt08 wrote:Today two different teas: the first pour is the winter gaoshan tea from Taiwan I've been drinking so frequently...quiet rounds under a moody sky of shifting grey clouds while reading The Way Of The Bodhisattva by Shantideva, a book that always speaks so deeply and so clearly.

That's a great book, a favourite of mine, and the only Mahayana text on my bookshelf.

Best wishes,
sherubtse

I scarfed down everything on Buddhism I could get my hands on when I was young man. There was only one book I kept throughout the years that had a lasting impact on me, The Zen Teachings Of Huang Po, On The Transmission Of Mind, translated by John Blofeld.

It pairs well with a good Da Yu Ling.

An Interesting idea that ... tea and texts. Which teas go with which books and vice versa. Kyarazen referred to this idea as well in his post just above. Seems like a good topic for a new thread.